Shoe machine



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L. E. TOPHAM snos MACHINE Original Filed April 9, 191'! 6 Sheets-Sheet 10 1,616,720 L. E. TOPHAM SHOE MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 11 Original Filed April 9, 1917 I M% A M Feb. 8, 1927; 1,6153% .L-. TOPHAM.

SHOE MACHINE Original FiledAprii 9,1917 16'sheats sneet 1;

W51 I I are not limited to use in this class 5-0 n vertical section,

- Patented Feb. 8,1927.

UNITED: STATES-PATENT OFFICE.

LAURENCE E. T OPHAM, OF SWAMPSCOTT,; MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR-TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

snon MACHINE.

Original application filed April 9, 1917, Serial No. 160,751 mvided and this application filed December v 11,1923. Serial No; 679,899.

This invention relates to shoe machines 7 and more particularly to machines for sewing the outsole to the welt of a welted shoe. Certain features of the invention, however,

of machines'but may be embodied in machines for sewing other parts of a shoe or in machines for performing operations other than sewing upon a shoe. I tion are particularly applicable to machines in which the shoe and the means "for operating upon the shoe, are moved relatively to transfer the point of operation about the shoe and to change the relative positions of the shoe and the operating means to present the shoe properly to the operating means as the point of operation is transferred about the shoe, and in which the shoe is supported in oper ating position in the machine and all of its movements are effected and controlled by automatically acting mechanisms.

Y Except as defined in the claims, however, the several features of the present invention are not limited to machines which are wholly automatic in character but may be embodied in machines in which certain of the movements of the shoe are imparted by the operator or in machines in which the shoe is held and manipulated by the operator.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction and mode of operation of shoe machines of the character above referred to, and with this object in view the invention consists in the constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the advantages of which will be understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art from the accompanying drawings illustrating a machine embodying .the invention in its preferred form and the following detailed description of the construction therein shown.

In the drawings Fig. elevation of a machine embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a view side elevation of the- ,machine, looking fromt-heright; Fig. 3 is a 4 Ian view of themtrchin; Fig. 4 is a view looking from the left, illustrating the driving and stopping mechanism of the machine; Fig. 5 15 a view in horizontal section, taken substantially on the line 5-5 of'Fig l; Fig. 6 isa v1ew in The several features of the present inven- 1 is a view in front.

view in side elevation illustrating a portion .of the mechanism shown in Fig. 7; Fig. 9

. is a detail plan view, partly in section, illustrating particularly parts of the sewing mechanism and parts of the driving and stopping mechanisms; Fig. 10 .is a detail sectional view line 10-10 of Fig. 9; Fig. 11 is a detail view in front elevation illustrating the edge gage mechanism and the feed changing mechanism; Fig. 12 is a view in side elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 11, looking from the right; Fig. 13' is a detail plan view illustrating particularly the mechanism for driv ng the pattern cam shaft; Fig. 14 is a detall in side. elevation, looking from the taken substantially on the' section, illustrating particularly left-hand side of the machine,, illustrating the mechanism for driving the 'battern cam shaft; Fig. 15 is a detail view djront'elevation illustrating certain parts n" the mechanism for stopping the machine during or at the completion of the sewing of a seam; Fig. 16 is a plan view of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 15; Fig. 17 is a detail view in rear elevation, partly in section, illustrating certain parts of the mechanism for stopping the machine and certain parts associated therewith; Fig. 18 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 18-18 of Fig. 17 Fig. 19 is a detail View in front elevation, partlyin section, illustrating .certain parts of the mechanism for stopping the machine and for lifting the presser foot at the completion of the sewing of a seam; Fig. 20 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 2020 of Fig. 19; and Figs. 21, 22, 23 and 24 are detail plan views illustrating in different positions the mechanism for stopping ,the machine, Figs. 21 and 23 each showing the parts adjusted for the sewing of a right shoe and respectively showing the positions of the parts upon machine as the pattern cam shaft is brought to starting position, and upon stopping the machine at the completion of the sewing of a seam, and Figs. 22 and 24 each showing the parts adjusted for the sewing of a left stopping the shoe and respectively showing the positions of the parts upon stopping the machine as the pattern cam shaft is brought to starting pos1t1on, and upon stopping the machine at the completion of the. sewing of a seam.

The machine illustrated in the drawing is an automatic shoe machine, the mechanism for operating upon the shoe of which consists of, a. sewing mechanism constructed and arranged for sewing outsoles to the welts of welted shoes. This machine is fully'illus trated anddescrihed in 'applicants pending application Ser. No. 160,751, filed April 9, 1917, of which the present application is a division.

ii The illustrated machine comprises, in addition to the sewing mechanism, a jack upon which the lasted shoe is placed by the opera tor preparatory to the sewing of a seam, means for supportmg thejack constructed and arranged to permit a movement of the jack,

sent the shoe properly to saiddevices as the point of operation is transt'erred ahout the shoe bottom, means for driving the sewing mechanism and said ack moving mechar' nisin durin" the sewing of the seam, de-

vices for stopping the machine at the completion of the sewingof a seam, means for driving said jack moving mechanism independently ot' the sewing mehanism to bring the jack to starting position and devices for stopping the machine when the jack has been brought to startingposition.

The sewing mechanism of the machine illustrated in the drawing, with the exception of certain changes in the pul-ofi mechanism hereinafter described, is substantially the same in construction, arrangement and mode of operation (it parts as that of the Goodyear rapidloclrstitch machine :for sowing outsoles, illustrated and described in the patent to French & Mever No. 473,870,

dated April 26, 1892.-This mechanism iigKseeFigs. 1 and "7 comprises a curved hool'. ."needle 2,11 work feeding awl 4. a shuttle 6,

"take-up 8.an auxiliary take-up 10,

.fthread-loclring device 152 a pull-otf 14, and

,"a tension device '16.

The machine is also I "provided with a 'work support 18 and a she in .presser-foot 20. The parts of the sewing mechanism aredriven from a series of cam-i mounted upon' a cam shatt- 22 which for the sake of convenience in the following; dc.-

scription will be termed the sewing, cam

For the sake or" cl arncss in 'lhe -cxlilunm tion of certain features of the invention, cer: tain parts of the sewing mechanism and the meifhanisms for actuating these parts are describedin this application. For a full and complete description of the parts not described herein, reference may be had to the French & -Meyer patent referred to above. The awl 4 (see Figs. 7; 8, 9 and 10) is mounted upon'an awl carrier 24 pivoted upon a stud 26 mounted in a bearing in an'uprightv 28 carried by the feed slide 30. Secured to the feed slide is a bracket 32 carrying a stud 34 upon which is pivoted a lever 36. Pivoted upon the lever 36 is a block 38 engaging in a curved groove 40 in the forwardly projecting arm of a lever 42 pivoted upon. a stud 4A. The rearward 1y projecting arm of this lever carries a cam roll 46 engaging in a cam groove in a cam disk 48 mounted on the sewing cam shaft 22. During the rotation of the sewing cam' shaft the lever 42 is oscillated by the action of the cam groove in the cam disk 48 on the cam roll 46, and through the connection of the feed slide with the forwardly projecting arm of the lever 42 the feed slide is reciprocated in its guides in theframe. By adjusting the lever 36 about the stud 34 the distance of the block 38 from the axis of oscillation of the lever 42 may be "varied to give the desired length of" feed In order "toenable the operator accurately to position the lever 36 to give a predetermined length of feeda scale plate 50 is mounted on the frameot' the machine and is provided with a series of perforations 52 in which stop pins5-zl may be inserted to limit the movements of the lever.

The auxiliary take-up consists of a roll mounted upon a lever 56 pivoted on the frame. This lever is acted upon by a spring 58 which tends to maintain the lever in an elevated position in engagement with an ad-. justablc stop pin, but allows the roll to yield to give thread during the loop drawing stroke of the takeup.

The pull-off comprises a roll mounted upon a forwardly extending arm 60 fixed to one end of the roclr shaft 62 mounted in bearing in the frame. An upwardly ex tending arm 64 fixed to the other end ofthc' rock shaft 62 carries a nivotally, mountedblock 66 whichengages'in a groove 68in an oscillating lever 70 pivoted at 72 on the vertically movable support 74. The support 7% is pivotally mounted at 76 upon a rearwurdly extending; arm of the pre'sserdoot lever 78 which is pivoted upon a stud 80 mounted in the frame of the machine. The lower end of the support 'Z-l is formed with guides cu'lbracing a lolock 82 pivoted on the rock shaft (52. the block serving as a guide for the lower end of the support, 'l L spring ttt is aranged. to act on the support and normally tends to lift the support to main- "the Presser-foot in yielding engagement thjthe Work. The lever is oscillated irough certain connections from a 'cam ever; actuated by a cam carried by the sew firing cam shaft 22 of the machine, as will be ilier'einafter described. 7 r {a f: "The preSser-foot' 20 is mounted upon the {forward end of the lever 78. The presser- "foot mechanism also comprises an arm 86 pivetee upon the stud 80, which carries the presselr-foot let er and extending rearwardly emits pivotal pointabove the rearwardly itch-ding arm of the resser-foot lever. A. i-rod'88lis pivotally connected at its lower end I .to the rearwardly ext-ending arm ofthe prss'er-foot lever and passes through a latera]; projection 90 on the arm'SG. Ausleeve 9 is mounted on the rod above the projec- IiQO and a coiled spring 9i surrounding Ivtlife todis interposed between the upper end the-sleeve and a nut 96 threaded on the fp'er end of the rod. The rear end of the arm 86, is formed with a series of teeth Ladapted to be engaged by a pawl 98 pivot ed at 100 upon a cam lever 102. This lever 5 is'pivoted at 104. upon-the frame and carries .7a cam roll 106 for engagement with a cam mn've in ,a' cam disll" 108 mounted on the sewing .cam shaft 22. The pawl 98 is yieldengaged with theteeth on the rear end or lthearin 86 by means of a leaf spring 110 i mounted on the lever 102. Therear end of Lillie presser-f oot lever is formed with a series g1 ofteeth which are adapted to be engaged by a loeking pawl 112 pivoted at 11s on the amef This pawl is yieldingly engaged tlrthe teeth on the end of the presser-foot lever by means of aleaf spring 116 mounted on the lever 102. In order to throw out the awls during each cycle pawl 98 is 'formed with a should-er 118 which engages a pin 120011 the frame, and the lever is-formed with a projection 122 for en- ,igageinentwith a projection. 124 on the pawl w 1L2. During the feeding of the work the ,paivls 98 and 112 are disengaged respectively from the teeth on the rearend of the arm 86 ,Q- and on the rear end of the Presser-foot lever 8, thi e presser-foot then being held lightly ,in engagement with the work by the tension exerted} by the spring 84; After thework -flhas'been fed and before the needle retracts from the work,'the arm 86 is lifted lay-the raction of the cam lever 102 through the pawl 98 thereby compressing the spring O-L'and causing the press'er-foot to engage the work withconsiderable pressure, after which the PI'QfiSQlFfOOt is locked in'position-by the action of the pawl 112 and remains locked during the remainder .ofthe eyeleof opera ons. v Lthe jack upon whieh the lastedshoe is supported during the sewing operation (see 1 Pi s. l ,and 2) compress a spindle 1263M! e-z' Lang-5mm secured to the upper end nf jack spindle is horizontal plane of Operations the I ing movements are-imparted by the s indle provided with a toe support 128 and with a heel supporting last pin 180. The

rotativcly mounted in asupporting frame 132 which is pivotally mount.- ed so as to swing about a horizontal axis in a yoke 134 formed at the forward end of a rod 136. The rear end of the rod 136 is connected by a swivel joint to a shackle block 138 which embraces a yoke 140 and is pivotally connected therewith to swing in a vertical plane by means of bearing pins The yoke 140 embraces a link frame 144 (see also Fig. 13) nected with the link frame to swing in a by means of bearing pins 146. One end of t 1e link frame 144 is connected by vertically arranged pivot pins to a horizontally arranged supporting arm and the other end of the link frame is similarly connected to a horizontally arranged supporting arm 152 The supporting arms extend in opposite directions and at their and is pivotally con-.

enter ends are pivotally mounted upon the frame of the machine. A slide block 154 is mounted upon the rod 136 and is connected with the yoke 140 by a link connected with the slide block 154 is a rod 158 extending at its lower end through a sleeve mounted upon trunnions engaging in bearing in an arm 160 on the yoke 140; burrounding't'he rod 158 is a coiled spring 162 interposed between a collar fixed to the rod and. the upper end of the sleeve.

The jack supporting structure above described permits a movement in the direction of feed of the upper end of the jack to trans fer the point of operation about the shoe and a movement transversely of the direction of feed to keep the edge of the shoe in the proper lateral relation to the sewing 1necha-, nisln, as well as a bodily vertical movement.- Also movements of the jack are per mitted to change the position of the shoe during the sewing operation to place the portion of the shoe at-the point of operation in the proper position with relation to the sewing mechanism as the point of operation is transferred about the shoe. Thesenidvements consist of lateral and longitudinal tipping movements about axes extending in the general direction of the length of'the shoe and transversely of the shoe to bring the shoe bottom at the point of operation into .the proper plane, and lateral turning movements to bring the marginal line of the shoe bottom at the point of operation into the proper-position with relation to the line parted by devices acting on the jack sup,- porting spindle to movecthe lower end '"f thespindle forwardly and rearwardly, and back and 'forthiat right angles to the forward and rearward-movement, and the turndevices actin'g on tlre s'pindle to rotate the spindle.

90 156. Pivotally tit? Because of the fact. that the shoe is held at all times at the point of operation by the needle and the awl and by-the work supportand the presser foot, the tipping and turning movements are caused to take place about the point of operation, the shoe being tipped and turned about these work engaging devices as a fulcrum.

The movement of the shoe, and of the jack upon which it is supported, to transfer the point of operation about the shoe, is produced by the action on the shoe of the feeding devices of the sewingmechanism. As the point of operation is transferred along the shoe, mechanism acting on the jack spindle tents yieldingly to swing the upper end of the jack towards the rear of the machine and thus to keep the edge of the shoe sole between the work support and the presser foot of the sewing mechanism. This mechanism comprises a pulley or disc 164; fixed to the jack spindleand a pair of cables 166 and 168 passing in opposite directions about the pulley and each attached at, olie end to the pulley. These cables extend rear-i wardly from the pulley 164 respectively over pulleys 170, 172 and then forwardly and are respectively connected at the ends to tension springs 174: and 17 6, which springs are attached at their forward ends to plus mounted in the frame of the machine. These springs also, because of their connections through, the cables 166 and 168 with the pulley 164: tired to the jack spin: 'dle, tend to rotate the "jack spindle. Mechanism fully described in application Ser. No. 160,751, is provided for controlling the tension exerted by each of these springs which will operate to vary the tension at difierent points in the sewingoperation.

The tipping and lateral turning movements are imparted to the jack through suitable connections from a cam shaft 178 which, for the sake of convenience, will be herein after termed the pattern cam shaft. This cam shaft is rotated through less than a complete revolution during the sewing of a shoe and then its rotation is completed while the sewing mechanism remains at rest to bring the shaft to the proper position for the start of the next operation upon another shoe. To permit the same cams to be used in sewing both right and left shoes, the machine has provision whereby the cam shaft may be rotated in either direction. The same set of connections is employed for imparting the lateral tipping movements to the shoe in sewing either a right or a left shoe. On account. of the reversal in the direction of rotation of the cams. however,v

two sets of connections are provided for. imparting the longitudinal tipping movements to the shoe and two sets of connccw; tions for imparting the turning movements to the shoe, one set of connections being used in sewing a right shoe and the other set being used in sewing a left shoe.

- The lateral tipping movements of the shoe are produced by the forward and rearward swinging movements of the Min 150 which, through the connections described between the arm and the lower end of the jack spindle, impart forward and rearward movements to the lower end of the spindle. The

swinging movements of this arm are pro duccd by means of a cam roll 180 mounted on'the arm and engaging a cam groove in a ant disk 182 mounted uponthe cam shaft The mechanism for imparting the longitudinal tipping movements to the shoe employed in sewing a right shoe comprises a lever 184 pivoted upon a vertical shaft 186 and connected by a link 188 to the lower end of the j ack spindle. The lever 184 is provided shoe is being sewn a similar set of levers nd links is provided comprising a lever-194 pivotally mounted upon a vertical pivot. shaft 196 and connected at its forward end with thelower endhof the jack spindle by means of a connecting rod 198. The rear end of the lever 194 is connected by means of a link 200 toa lever 202 pivotali upon the vertical shaft 186 an provided with a notched segmental plate adapted to be engaged bythe lower end of the latch mounted in the cam lever 192.

' The mechanism for impartingthe turning movements to the jack spindle to turn the shoe laterally during the sewing of a right mounted shoe comprises a circular rack or internal gear segment- 204 pivotally mounted upon the spindle carrying frame 132 and meshing with a gear upon the spindle. The gear segment is connected by means of a rod 206 to one arm of a bell crank 208 pivotally mounted upon the lever 184. The other end of the bell crank 208 is connected through a link 21.0, T-shaped-lever-21-2 and link 214 to a lever 216pi-votally mounted upon the shaft 186. This lever 216 is provided with a notched segn'iental plate 218. similar to the notched segmentalplate 190. adapted to be engaged by a latch mounted in one arm of a lever 220. This lever is pivotally mounted upon the shaft 186 and is engaged by a cam groove in a cam dis-k 222 secured to the cam shaft- 178. A similar set of connections are provided for imparting the turning movements to the jack spindle to turn the jack laterally'whcn a left shoe is being sewn,

these connections comprising a bell crank 224 

